Japan Minister Says Nationalization Needed to Phase Out Nuclear

By Tsuyoshi Inajima -
Sep 28, 2012

Japan’s government should take
control of nuclear power plants to achieve its goal of phasing
out atomic power over the next three decades, Trade and Industry
Minister Yukio Edano wrote in a book published today.

It is “inevitable” the government will have to step in if
nuclear operators cannot pay compensation costs in the event of
an accident, Edano, 48, told reporters when asked about the
nationalization proposal in his 240-page book. “It doesn’t make
sense that private companies profit from nuclear power, while
the government alone bears risk,” Edano said.

Japan plans to phase out atomic energy by the end of the
2030s after the quake and tsunami in March 2011 caused meltdowns
and radiation leaks at the Fukushima nuclear plant north of
Tokyo. The government took control of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501)
in July this year as the Fukushima disaster left the operator of
the crippled plant on the brink of bankruptcy.

“The government should effectively operate nuclear power
plants” because of the potential costs of a nuclear accident,
Edano wrote. “The government can then have the authority over
operation and decommissioning of reactors in return for taking
the risks.”

Japan should achieve zero nuclear in two phases, Edano
wrote. Reactors that do not meet safety standards need to be
decommissioned. Secondly, the government should set safety
ratings based on criteria such as type and age of units. Then
the reactors can be decommissioned, starting with the ones most
at risk.

Edano, a former patent lawyer, was chief cabinet secretary
when the triple catastrophe of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear
meltdown happened on March 11 last year. He led daily news
briefings on the disaster, which won generally high approval
ratings from the public at the time.

Edano, who attended university in the Tohoku region most
damaged by the quake, has clashed publicly with business leaders
over his views on nuclear energy. His ministry oversees the
atomic power industry.

Hiromasa Yonekura, the chairman of Sumitomo Chemical Co and
head of Keidanren Japan’s biggest business lobby, said phasing
out nuclear is unrealistic and “ignorant of economic
efficiency.”

Edano’s book doesn’t have an official English-language
title. It translates roughly as “Things That I Have to Say Even
if Criticized.”